Federal Sentencing and Post-Conviction Attorney
Sentencing Representation and Consultation
The Law Offices of Alan Ellis limits its practice to federal plea negotiations, sentencing representation and consultation, Rule 35, prison designation, transfers, disciplinary matters and other problems, direct criminal appeals, Section 2255 motions, habeas corpus petitions and other post-conviction remedies, Supreme Court practice, parole representation, and international prisoner treaty transfer work for foreign inmates and Americans arrested abroad. The foremost goal practiced by Mr. Ellis and his team of experts is to obtain in every case the lowest possible sentence for clients at the best facility possible, with the greatest opportunity for early release.
Alan Ellis has 39 years experience as a practicing criminal defense lawyer, law professor and federal law clerk. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has recognized him in a published decision as a "nationally-recognized expert in federal criminal sentencing."
The firm makes extensive use of its mitigation specialists, who are both forensic-licensed clinical social workers who help the firm identify and present mitigating client factors. As a result, the firm is regularly consulted by top criminal defense lawyers on white collar and other federal sentencing issues, including those involving clients accused of the following types of federal crimes. Affiliated with the firm are two mitigation specialists, one of whom is a forensic licensed clinical social worker, and two federal prison consultants formerly employed at a high level by the Bureau of Prisons.
- Federal white collar crime - including embezzlement, banking fraud, trust fund fraud, mail fraud, Internet fraud, money laundering, and other white collar crimes
- Federal corporate crimes - including fraudulent accounting practices, officer and director liability, and other corporate crimes
- Federal sex crimes involving children or minors - including child pornography, solicitation of a minor for sex, transporting a minor across state lines for sex, and other federal sex offenses involving children
- Federal drug crimes - including possession of drugs, drug trafficking, smuggling, and the cultivation or manufacturing of drugs or narcotics
Federal sentencing practice underwent a sea change on January 12, 2005, when the Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Booker. In that case, the Supreme Court faced head-on a question concerning the constitutionality of the Sentencing Guidelines that had been brewing since the Court's landmark decision in Apprendi v. New Jersey.
The Court held that the Guideline system as it was then structured was unconstitutional because it required the judge to find facts by a preponderance of the evidence that would determine the sentence under the Sentencing Guidelines. The Court was faced with two ways to correct this problem. It could, in effect, rewrite the statute to require juries to find guideline facts beyond a reasonable doubt, or it could rewrite the statute to make the guidelines purely advisory. It chose the second option.
After Booker, a sentencing court must still determine the applicable guideline range, but it is no longer required to impose sentence within that range, even if there are no grounds for departure. This decision provides defendants with new opportunities and new risks. While courts will now be able to impose sentences lower than the advisory guideline ranges, they will also be able to impose higher sentences (up to the maximum sentence provided by Congress).
Effective sentencing representation in the federal system now requires exceptional understanding not only of the guidelines, but also of the other legal criteria courts must take into account in fashioning sentences.
Attorney Alan Ellis is a nationally known federal sentencing expert. He and other members of the firm have written widely and lectured on the impact of the Booker decision.
For information about federal sentencing representation and consultation, please schedule a confidential consultation by calling us at our San Francisco, California, office from the western United States or abroad at 415 380 2550 or our Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, office at 610 658 2255 from the eastern United States, or filling out our intake form on our Contact Us page.
Click here to read "All About Booker" (PDF).
"Representing White Collar Clients In A Post-Booker World," The Champion, September/October 2005 (PDF)
"Interview with Alan Ellis," Corporate Crime Reporter, July 2005 (PDF)
"Federal Sentencing And Post-Conviction News," Fall 2005 newsletter (PDF)
"Litigating In A Post-Booker World", Criminal Justice, Spring 2005 (PDF)
"Baker's Dozen: Federal Sentencing Tips for the Experienced Advocate, Part II,"Criminal Justice, February 2001
"Baker's Dozen: Federal Sentencing Tips for the Experienced Advocate, Part I,"Criminal Justice, Winter 1997
"Answering the 'Why' Question: The Powerful Departure Grounds of Diminished Capacity, Aberrant Behavior, and Post-Offense Rehabilitation,"Federal Sentencing Reporter, May/June 1999
"Let Judges Be Judges! Post-Koon Downward Departures: Part 7, Family Ties and Responsibilities,"Criminal Justice, Summer 1999
"Let Judges Be Judges! Post-Koon Downward Departures: Part 6, Substantial Assistance,"Criminal Justice, Spring 1999
"Let Judges Be Judges! Post-Koon Downward Departures: Part 5, Combination of Factors,"Criminal Justice, Winter 1999
"Let Judges Be Judges! Post-Koon Downward Departures: Part 4, Civic, Charitable, or Public Service,"Criminal Justice, Fall 1998
"Let Judges Be Judges! Post-Koon Downward Departures: Part 3, Aberrant Behavior,"Criminal Justice, Summer 1998
"Let Judges Be Judges! Post-Koon Downward Departures: Part 2, Post-offense Rehabilitation,"Criminal Justice, Spring 1998
"Let Judges Be Judges! Post-Koon Downward Departures: Diminished Capacity,"Criminal Justice, Winter 1998
For more information about effective sentencing representation and prison placement in the federal system, please contact the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
